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Retail 2024: ROBERT S. ‘BOBBY’ UKROP
Ukrop’s family started a Virginia grocery chain in 1937, which became Richmond’s dominant supermarket brand before it was purchased in 2009 by Dutch retail conglomerate Ahold. The family retained its beloved prepared foods and bakery operations under the Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods brand. Its baked goods and ready-[...]
Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2024: JENNIFER MORRIS
Morris has spent nearly 30 years in organizations dedicated to protecting the environment, a passion she developed while teaching in Namibia. She saw how the health of the community she was working with in southwest Africa was impacted by the unhealthy environment. Morris heads a global staff of 4,000 in more than 70 countries a[...]
Agriculture 2024: CORWIN HEATWOLE
Sixth-generation chicken farmer Heatwole started his 100% organic and humane-certified chicken company in 2014. Originally named Shenandoah Valley Organic but rebranded as Farmer Focus in 2020, the company lets farmers own their flocks, receive fair compensation and make key decisions. In August 2023, Farmer Focus announced that[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: DAVID LEVY
In October 2023, Levy was tapped to lead Amazon Web Service’s worldwide public sector business, overseeing government contracting activities for Amazon.com’s cloud computing subsidiary, as well as business for educational, nonprofit and health care organizations. In 2023, AWS recorded $90 billion in net sales, up fro[...]
Health Care 2024: ANTHONY ‘TONY’ BAKER
Baker leads Fortune 500 pharma manufacturer Merck’s vaccine operations in Elkton. The company founded a plant in the Rockingham County town in 1941. Early in his career, Baker spent seven years at Pennsylvania-based Biopharm Project Solutions as a senior process specialist. He joined Merck in 2008 as a process engineer and[...]
Retail 2024: DREW PARKER
Carter Machinery has deep roots in Virginia, tracing back to 1928, when Robert Hill Carter founded Virginia Tractor in Richmond. The company was the state’s first Caterpillar dealership, and it is still going today as an independent dealer with more than 30 locations. It has more than 2,300 employees in Virginia, West Virg[...]
Transportation 2024: JOSEPH P. ‘JOE’ RUDDY
Ruddy, who has served two terms as COO, from 2011 to 2014, and since 2021, oversees information technology, safety, security, expansion projects and maintenance for the Virginia Port Authority affiliate that runs the Port of Virginia. That’s always a big job, but the past year has added some extra challenges. This spring, [...]
Real Estate 2024: JON M. PETERSON
Founded in 1965 by Peterson’s late father, Milt, Peterson Cos. is responsible for some of the most prominent and successful mixed-use retail, residential and office developments in Northern Virginia and Maryland, including Fairfax Corner, Fair Lakes, National Harbor, Burke Centre and Tysons McLean Office Park. Peterson, wh[...]
Real Estate 2024: LAURA D. LAFAYETTE
Between her leadership positions with the Richmond Association of Realtors and the Central Virginia Regional Multiple Listing Service, Lafayette serves more than 6,800 Realtors in Central Virginia. This year, she’s become an even more powerful voice in the Richmond real estate community in the wake of a landmark court sett[...]
Banking | Finance 2024: JOHN C. ASBURY
In April, Atlantic Union Bankshares, the holding company for Atlantic Union Bank, completed its acquisition of Danville-based American National Bankshares, parent company of American National Bank and Trust — a transaction valued at about $507 million. The combined bank has $24.3 billion in total assets, $19.4 billion in depos[...]
Transportation 2024: SHEPPARD ‘SHEP’ MILLER III
A former defense contracting executive and Norfolk native, Miller was appointed secretary by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2022. He is responsible for Virginia’s rail, roads, transit and ports. As chair of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, Miller has a great deal of say on the state’s transportation funding of major ro[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: PHEBE N. NOVAKOVIC
Novakovic has led General Dynamics, the world’s sixth largest aerospace and defense company, since 2013. During her tenure as CEO, General Dynamics won the Navy’s largest-ever contract, up to $24.2 billion, to build nuclear submarines. The Fortune Global 500 company employs more than 100,000 people and recorded $42.3[...]
